View full sizeLisa Edgington (left) of Rosie's Room with Kathy Webb of Nike.Photo courtesy of Nike

Rosie’s Room, a nonprofit based in Beaverton and active in Portland, hopes to transition from an all-volunteer crew to hiring several paid staff members in order to grow the organization’s services for low-income and homeless individuals.

Nike recently awarded $7,000 to the nonprofit, which will use the funds to hire one part-time staffer. Rosie’s Room Founder Lisa Edgington said she hopes to gain a second paid employee in the future.

Rosie’s Room, which started about three years ago, provides training for homeless or recently homeless individuals to teach them life skills like cooking, sewing and gardening. Volunteers visit low-income housing communities and shelters, and the nonprofit recently gained office space with a kitchen and classrooms at Northeast Broadway and Northeast 82nd Avenue in Portland.

“When you teach people to cook and sew, they can stretch their money further and it helps reduce the recurrence of homelessness,” Edgington said.

The organization also collects donated sewing machines, material and supplies, and volunteers helped one group of residents start a shared garden at a low-income housing community.

“We help them and we want them to help give back,” Edgington said. “Anything to see that full circle. That’s what we like.”

Edgington, who lives in Beaverton, said she would love to coordinate with existing nonprofits in her hometown to create more of a presence in Washington County.

Along with cooking, sewing and gardening, Rosie’s Room teaches knitting, crocheting and various arts and crafts. The number of volunteers with the organization fluctuates, but generally between 15 and 20 people help out, Edgington said.